*The folks that brought you live remakes of “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” are back to do the same tonight with “Diff’rent Strokes” and “Facts of Life.”
ABC’s “Live in Front of a Studio Audience,” produced by Jimmy Kimmel and Norman Lear, sees classic sitcoms get recreated for one night only with superstars taking on the roles.
“Diff’rent Strokes” (1978-1985) followed the lives of two young Black boys, Arnold and Willis Jackson, who were taken in by a rich white widower, Phillip Drummond. Tonight’s live update will star Kevin Hart as Arnold, Damon Wayans as Willis and John Lithgow as Mr. Drummond.
Charlotte Rae took on the role of Edna Garrett from 1978 to 1979, before going on to take the lead role in the show’s spinoff, “The Facts of Life” (1979 to 1988). Ann Dowd of “The Handmaid’s Tale” will portray Mrs. Garrett in both shows.
“The Facts of Life” focused on Garrett and her time as the housemother for an all-girls boarding school, Eastland School.
Jennifer Aniston will play Blair Warner, Gabrielle Union will play Tootie Riley, “Fargo’s” Allison Tolman will play Natalie Green and “WandaVision’s” Kathryn Hahn will play Jo Polniczek.
Jon Stewart will also appear in the special, but his role is being kept under wraps. The entire cast – with Union in her Tootie wig – gathered together for a joint video interview with their producer Kimmel on his “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Monday night. Toward the end, Hart jokingly came clean about the entire experience, calling it a “s**t show” and that they almost walked off the set during Monday’s rehearsal.
Watch below, and watch both shows tonight (Dec. 7) beginning at 8 p.m. on ABC.
